Press

A cow would argue that the highest and best use for leather is cow upholstery. But what do you do with leather airplane seats after they’ve been replaced? Southwest Airlines said it is donating a lot of leather – 43 acres of leather in all– for a program designed to put the leather to good use and provide jobs and skills training globally...

A Portland apparel company will re-purpose used leather airplane seat covers into apparel and other products under a new partnership with Southwest Airlines. Looptworks, which turns excess fabrics into clothing and other goods, is one of a handful of partners who will turn some 43 acres of surplus leather seat covers into clothing and other goods...

Today is Earth Day, but Scott Hamlin and his crew won’t get around to the Earth Day-like activity until Saturday. That’s when the Looptworks co-founder and some company employees will participate in weed pulling and litter pick-up at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, in an event sponsored by SOLVE and the Surfrider Foundation...

Upcycled leather is sexy and eco-conscious, especially when it matches your jacket/boots. Many products are recycled. Like paper, plastic, concrete and wood; even the Olympic swimsuits worn by the ab-tastic U.S. swim team have been made into dresses...

Scott Hamlin can rattle off environmental data with a professor's familiarity. It takes at least 400 gallons of water to make a T-shirt. Textile waste makes up at least 5 percent of U.S. landfills. As much as 4,500 pounds of leather can be discarded daily from one manufacturer...

Portland-based Looptworks loves nothing more than liberating the potential in excess materials through upcycling. Co-founded by Scott Hamlin and Gary Peck, the brand produces a range of carry items from iPad sleeves to laptop cases and backpacks...

Looptworks is definitely on the national radar.

Last year, Oprah Winfrey gave a nod to one of Looptworks’ laptop sleeves in O Magazine. Al Gore is on record as a fan of the business. Fast Company has come calling twice since the company launched in 2009 and even the Wall Street Journal gave Looptworks some love this fall...

American Apparel is attracting attention (as usual) for selling its Bag-O-Scraps to consumers, but a new company called Looptworks is actually taking excess textile waste and turning it into limited edition clothing. In other words, the company is trying to make trash a coveted item...